Need You for Keeps
Dodging a sheriff's deputy in a small town isn't that easy—especially when he's as jaw-droppingly gorgeous as Jonah Baudouin. Animal rescuer Shay Michaels struggles in vain but it will not do. See what else the author, Marina Adair, has to offer

Book Description

Aria Darwin has always considered herself cursed. She is obsessed with finding a cure for the bad boyfriend plague. Worse yet, she’s in denial about her weird abilities and terrified of her mysterious stalker who causes the earth to quake violently with the snap of his finger.

With her two best friends, Aria enters her first semester of college armed with a “no more men” pact in an effort to demagnetize the sleaze balls. Unfortunately, the agreement proves difficult when she meets Liam, a charming foreign exchange student, on the first day of school.

Aria quickly discovers that Liam is not only Mr. Perfect, but he also somehow ignites her supernatural side. Upon the invitation of her dream guy, Aria travels to Ireland through the study abroad program, dragging her friends along with her. But her world of euphoric bliss quickly comes crashing down as she uncovers the truth about her past, revealing who she really is and what she was born to do.

Aria Darwin has always considered herself cursed. She is obsessed with finding a cure for the bad boyfriend plague. Worse yet, she’s in denial about her weird abilities and terrified of her mysterious stalker who causes the earth to quake violently with the snap of his finger.

With her two best friends, Aria enters her first semester of college armed with a “no more men” pact in an effort to demagnetize the sleaze balls. Unfortunately, the agreement proves difficult when she meets Liam, a charming foreign exchange student, on the first day of school.

Aria quickly discovers that Liam is not only Mr. Perfect, but he also somehow ignites her supernatural side. Upon the invitation of her dream guy, Aria travels to Ireland through the study abroad program, dragging her friends along with her. But her world of euphoric bliss quickly comes crashing down as she uncovers the truth about her past, revealing who she really is and what she was born to do.

Oh my goodness. I should preface this by saying that I'm really not a jerk. But even though this book is (at the moment, anyway) only 99 cents, I feel like I ought to warn everyone else that that dollar could be better spent elsewhere. I mean, a Snickers bar is gone in about 30 seconds, but it's way more satisfying. This book is so, so bad. All I can figure is that all the good reviews are either from 13-year-olds who've never paid attention in English class or from the author's friends.

Here are my main problems with it:

1. The author doesn't use contractions in her dialogue. If it were once in a while, then fine. Likewise if the author was writing in a particular dialect. She's not, though, and she does it throughout the book. These are regular people - or at least they're supposed to be regular people until the big plot reveals toward the end - and regular people speak in contractions.

2. The author isn't terrific at using correct grammar and punctuation, either. Lots of missing commas. I know I sound like I expect perfection (I don't), and I understand that liberties can be taken with the rules if you want your writing to sound a certain way. I do that myself, in fact. The problem is, as I've already explained, that the end result "sounds" like nothing in real life. I caught a handful of misused words that were pretty obvious, too - you could tell she was really aiming at a different word and just didn't realize what the word she ultimately chose meant.

The end result is a story that sounds like it was written by a high school kid in a rush to get the words out and who isn't bothering to take the time to hear them in her head as she's writing them. Actually, I wouldn't swear that that's not the case: I remember when I went through an unfortunate phase of reading fan fiction, and that's kind of what this reads like: someone with the outline of a story in her head, but no real knowledge of how to flesh it out or get it to come alive for others. It's flat.

3. The story is kind of lame, too. It's too bad, 'cause it has potential, even though it's awfully similar to other, better-written stories out there. That might have been overlook-able if there were good characters, but...the author didn't write characters. She wrote archetypes. You've got the damsel in distress, and the evil villain, and the good guy who isn't trusted until too late, and it's all so predictable and shallow. The protagonist is an cute-boy-blinded idiot who shouldn't have been allowed out of her parents' sight. The only reason the bad guy isn't twirling his mustache and tying someone to the railroad tracks is because the mustache would detract from his perfect looks. There's no depth anywhere in the whole story!

Yes, yes, I know. It's young adult. That's no excuse. I've read some outstanding young adult fiction. I can't get over the idea that it's labeled YA because high school kids might not notice that this is really really bad.

I realize that with the advent of Amazon's self publishing thing, there's been a quality issue. Where before, if a book was published you could be reasonably assured that, even if it didn't match your particular tastes, it would at least be well-written. And edited. Now, you might think you're getting a deal by paying a dollar or two for a new book that sounds great in the little two-paragraph blurb and is actually fan fiction that wandered onto the wrong website. In general, I'm still in favor of the self-published stuff, and I've found some gems among the garbage. But there is garbage. And I think this book is the garbage's leader.Read more ›

To begin with, I was shocked at how well written and conceived this first book was, given the author has no other published works that I'm aware of outside this series. And the twists and turns had me guessing as each chapter ended, "where is this plot going"

The storyline began much like others in this genre, the main character sharing a last summer dip in the river with here two best friends, prior to all three of them leaving home for college. We find through the course of a few pages that she has trouble with picking decent guys. Is athletic and a trained dancer. Is an only child with a middle class set of values and lifestyle. And then the first part of the mystery unfolds. The recently dismissed jock boyfriend gets rough with her in a late night chat on the lawn. Out of nowhere come a large rock that knocks this guy out, as he was in the process of getting aggressive. The plot begins to thicken as we learn of her fears of this stranger, how this has not been the first time he interfered in her life and how she once was nearly drowned by a bad guy and saved by this stranger.

The girls are off to college and although a pact had been formed that they all swear off relationships for a time, Ari meets the dream guy. The 'special' one who has the looks, persona and good vibes that sweep her off her feet. As they become romantically involved, winter approaches and this new flame will soon be returning home to Ireland. As the time approaches, his wealth become evident... and just a she is about to leave, he produces three first class tickets for the three girls to join him in school in Ireland.

At this point the plot twists again and that nagging suspicion in the readers mind was proven valid. What was up is now down, what was to be is not, who she is is revealed. What her new found powers mean comes to light. (did I mention she can fly sometimes?) And we are introduced to a brand new set of characters, a magical new town, and some secrets are revealed, others left for us to discover in book 2.

This book was short, easy to consume in a few hours, hard to put down, and spurred me to find out more about who this author was, what she has in store down the line, and when the next book was coming out. I was behind the eightball, not only was book 2 released but the final in the trilogy is coming out in a few days. Get it, read it, and you will see what i mean, this author is going somewhere. Amanda Hocking move over.Read more ›

I enjoyed reading this adventure/romance by Jenna Bernel. It is my first story by her and I will definitely be reading the sequel. I found this story to be similar to Bridger by Megan Curd and Ascend by Amanda Hocking, so if you like their stories, you should like this one too.

Ari is an adopted girl with hidden powers on her way to college with her two best friends Morgan and Kayla. Ari has never had a boyfriend that wasn't a jerk, so she makes a pact with her girlfriends to not date for the semester. Unfortunately, the first day of class, she meets the drool-worthy Liam and tries unsuccessfully to withstand his charms. Knowing that he will be returning to Ireland at the end of the semester, Ari tries not to fall in love with him, but fails. He invites her and her friends to a semester in Ireland in the study abroad program and they all get permission to go.

Ari's hidden powers include once being able to levitate and being able to see clips of the future. She believes that there is a man in her woods that knows something about her, but is unable to get him to reveal who or what his intentions are when he eventually shows himself to her. He warns her to stay away from Liam and threatens her by causing earthquakes beneath her feet. He tells her that Liam is a liar and her enemy, but will not reveal anymore than that and she doesn't believe him.

This book did not use profanity or have sex although there was a lot of kissing. All the characters were interesting and fun to read about. Both of Ari's friends are great girls and good friends to her when they find themselves in danger with her. Liam is an incredible boyfriend; rich, good looking, always says the right thing, but Clay, the boy who warns her against him, also seems like he cares a lot for Ari. There is a twist at the end that is a great cliff hanger for the start of book two which is already out..

Would I/Did I buy it? Free downloadWould I read it again? YesWould I recommend it to friends? YesRead more ›

More About the Author

Jenna Bernel lives tucked along the bluffs, spending her days lost in the world of fantasy. When she's not writing, she's reading and drinks way to much caffeine to satisfy her love of both. Growing up she traveled extensively through the competitive dance circuit, unaware that at the time it would provide her future career an endless stream of inspiration for the captivating drama of Young Adult Fiction.